Update 12-27-05

Hi,

To start with, some happy news from Bernie Scheidt:  Just a short note to tell everyone that I just became a grandfather for the first time.  My son Jonathan and his wife Kathleen had a little girl on December 21st.  I guess I am getting old, though it seems like just yesterday that we were at South High.

[Rich – As I wrote Bernie:  Neat news.  Congratulations.]

Then some business, from Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  The next time you send out a newsletter, please ask people in your class to upgrade their Classmates.com information.  I have a feeling that many of their messages get bounced back because the e-mail addresses Classmates has for them are out-of-date.

[Rich -- as I wrote Emily:  The problem with sending out notes on Classmates.com, as I discovered when I accidentally spammed our class with our 40th Reunion notices, is that Classmates will send each person listed a note, even mentioning who it's from.  But the people receiving the notes can't read them unless they join Classmates.com by paying them thirty or forty bucks a year.  And since no one in our class seems really interested in doing this, almost no one is a member.  Though I also told Emily that she might have better luck with other classes.]

And Emily wrote back:  According to Classmates.com, even if people aren't members, they can respond once -- sort of tempting them to bite the bait!

[Rich -- So I'm dutifully asking you:  If your e-mail address is out-of-date on Classmates.com, please update it and see what happens.]

Quasi-business, from Claire Brush Reinhardt:  I just finished reading this week's newsletter.  Two things:  First, thank you for sending it out each week.  As I said before, even though I'm this "older" person from the class of '62, I enjoy it thoroughly.  Secondly, in answer to Barbara Blitfield Pech:  South's 50th anniversary celebration is planned for Saturday, March 11, 2006, at the school.  As far as I know, there has been no formal announcement as of yet, but some things being planned for that day include:  an alumni breakfast; tours of the school; a concert including performances from any alumni who wish to perform, and, I believe, some entertainment from Booker Gibson; showings of all the video interviews done with alumni; perhaps a sock hop later on in the afternoon in the gym; and the selling of inscribed bricks for the courtyard.  As I hear more, or see any announcements in local papers or the district paper, The Observer, I will keep you informed.  Hope the holidays are wonderful for everyone!

[Rich – Of course, I thanked Claire nicely for her compliments.]

A semi-personal note from Ryki Zuckerman to Robert Fiveson:  Pass this on to Robert please, though I have his e-mail address somewhere:  I saw Carol Kauderer at our class's 20th reunion in 1986.  She was quite well.  Maybe Susan Joseph -- now Tuckerman -- has an e-mail address for her.  Also, was Arlene Charney related to Keith Charney?  He's in the Miami area running Bronzo Sensuale, a natural, carrot-based suntan oil company he created. I don't have a current e-mail address for him though.  All these ladies you mentioned are in the class of ‘66.

Sad news from Robert:  Thanks, Ryki, but it's bad news ultimately.  Carol was a bright flame and a mischievous and talented thespian at South.  I can see her before me even now, onstage with Barnet and me in Annie Get Your Gun, and I remember her smile vividly.  Unfortunately, she died three years ago from breast cancer.  Robin Feit remembered this and informed me, and Irene Saunders tracked down Carol's brother and was told the news.
    And, yes, I do believe Keith is Arlene's brother.
    Also, thanks, Rich, for your offer of California weather.  But if I want 80 degrees, I’ll just stick my head in the microwave, thanks.  And, actually, I prefer the cold.  There's something about bundling up with a scarf, and seeing your breath, and the crunch of snow under your feet when you walk.  Not to mention, feeling snug under the covers.  Today, I saw three deer leaping through the snow, and a few days ago I was mesmerized watching snowflakes the size of quarters drift down as far as I could see.

[Rich – of course, I was sorry to hear about Carol’s death.  I also remember her in Annie Get Your Gun and Damn Yankees.  There are a number of people, like Gerry Kaplan, and Charlie Rose, and Carol Krakow, who I’d looked forward to seeing again and now will never have the chance.  I'm sorry to have to list Carol among them.]

To cheer us all, some musical news from Stu Borman:
    For a princess is a delicate thing,
    Delicate and dainty as a dragonfly's wing.
    You can recognize a lady by her elegant air,
    But a genuine princess is exceedingly rare.
    Once Upon A Mattress with Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman was on TV last weekend.  I taped it and watched it with my wife and one of my sons.  My family members were pretty surprised when I mentioned that I knew the musical and then sang some of the lyrics from memory.
    Why did I remember the words to these songs?  It was because the South High School performance of Once Upon A Mattress made a big impression on me.  Perhaps I worked in the production, although I don't recall having done so.  But I must, at least, have watched several rehearsals.
    I had not seen the musical between that time, fall 1962, and this week, a span of over forty years.  But many of the songs were still somewhere in the recesses of my mind.  Hearing them again brought back some wonderful memories, and a few tears.
    Flower, seed, man, woman, bee, baby, small.
    It isn't the stork.  It isn't the stork.  It isn't the stork at all!
    Oh, life is grand!   It's very interesting.  I think I understand.
    I think, I think I know.
    It's very interesting.  Thank you, father.
    And father, I love you so!
    I hope some of you had a chance to catch the new production, too.  Thanks to Mr. Tampio and those of you who put our South High School production together.  You made these memories possible.

Next, the second of four reminders requested by Terri Donohue Calamari for the new and improved ALUMNI WINTER BREAK:  Please join us in Naples, Florida on Sunday, January 15, 2006, at noon, to board the Naples Princess, a luxury yacht, for a luncheon cruise up Naples Bay to the Gulf of Mexico ($39.70 including tax and tip).  When you disembark from the Princess, beautiful, downtown Naples and the beach will be only steps away.  After sightseeing or a swim, join other alumni and faculty for an open house from  3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at my house before your ride home.  For more information, please e-mail me at:  terrcal@cs.com

Finally, most of a prayer sent for a different new year from Barbara Blitfield Pech.  It seems just as appropriate now:
    During this coming year, may you enjoy good health and happiness.  May you have a kiss from your beloved, a smile from a child, and a warm, cozy home with the aroma of good food baking in the oven.  May you have a merciful IRS agent, and good friends and helpful neighbors.  May you enjoy the fruits of your labors, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, and may the sun shine on your face, but not too much.
    May your computer and your refrigerator both be safe from Spam.  May your e-mail bring you only good news and not forwarded jokes that are older than you are.  May you finally learn to understand what you're supposed to eat:  Is it more pasta and less carbs?  Or less pasta and more carbs?  Or is pasta a carb, in which case you can't eat it at all!  Can you?
   May you also learn whether to drink regular coffee, for the sake of its invigorating caffeine, or decaffeinated coffee, which is healthier but comes with a choice of artificial sweeteners.  One may cause cancer and the other may cause brain damage, though I can also never remember which is which.
 May the West Nile virus go back to the West Nile and leave the rest of us alone.  And may it take the Avian flu with it.  May your occupation, whatever it is -- homemaker or doctor, lawyer or tailor, househusband or stockbroker -- give you satisfaction.  And may it also earn you enough to send your children through college and grad school and support them ever after.
 May you see a rainbow.  May your child hit a home run.  May your team score a touchdown.  In this new year, may your hair and teeth stay in place, your facelift and stocks not fall, and your blood pressure, cholesterol, and mortgage rates not rise.  May you win the lottery, and thereby acquire a host of long-lost relatives and friends.  May your grandchildren receive good report cards, and may you receive good reports from your ophthalmologist, dermatologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, podiatrist, urologist, and, ultimately, from God.  Whenever it rains, may you have an umbrella, though if you live where the sun always shines, may you carry high-quality sunscreen.  Finally, may this year be happy, healthy, and prosperous for you and your loved ones.